Marc Stein: Hello, friends. Welcome. Lots of question in already so let's go.

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Matt (Bloomington, MN): Marc - I doubt anyone outside the Minneapolis area is watching yet, but Marko Jaric and Coach Casey are making a big difference for the Wolves. Casey has them running more and playing better defense than we've seen in a couple years. Cassell didn't give Minnesota much more than a healthy Troy Hudson does, but Jaric plays three positions that the team desperately needed depth at. Do you think the Cassell-Jaric trade will turn out to be a positive for both teams? (That seems rare.)

Marc Stein: Casey is off to a fine start. The defense is better. The ball movement is more pronounced. Not quite there with you on Jaric. Cassell was great for the Wolves when he was healthy. He also made KG happy, which I'm guessing means a lot to Wolves fans.


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Robbie (Memphis): Wow! Memphis gets the #3 spot in the weekly power rankings... Thank you for the much deserved honor. I'm betting some of your other frieds at ESPN would like to change their prediction on where the Grizz would finish by the end of the yeat huh?

Marc Stein: Relax. It's still too early to celebrate. But I guess I was in the minority when I picked them as a playoff team going in. Not sure why more people didn't like the additions, but Pau definitely likes having veterans everywhere he looks,


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Vladimir (Macedonia, Europe): Hi Marc. I'm interested to hear your opinion about the Rockets season. Can they manage to get out of the hole and have successful season? Will T-Mac ever play without health problems?

Marc Stein: T-Mac himself admits he's not going to be 100 percent for the rest of the season. But he's actually used to being hurt, so he can still hoist them back into playoff contention. Eight of their losses were without him, so writing them off for good is dangerous. The biggest problem is Tracy and Yao need a lot more help than they're getting. The supporting cast looks a lot more than one season older. Spree is the obvious short-term solution, but until he lowers his money demands, Rockets have no mechanism to bring him in.


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Andrew (MI): Pistons won't get bored. They already have a strategy for keeping themselves entertained: Let teams stay in the game for a half, and then laugh their heads off when they hold them to single digits in the third quarter. The Knicks and Bulls can attest to this. The only question is whether Rip or Chauncey will finally get an all-star game nod.

Marc Stein: One of them gets in for sure. Maybe both if your theory holds and they win 13 out of every 15.


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Jeremy (Tucson): Hey Marc,If Tony Parker keeps playing the way he is, will he be going to the All Star game? Is it possible to get 3 Spurs in even with Manu's slow start? Thanks.

Marc Stein: Possible, yes, but Spurs do it as an ensemble cast, so I think it's more likely that only one of the SA guards would make it even if both were healthy. Spurs don't need to be rushing Manu back to help his All-Star campaign, though. It would mean more to Tony at this point and they just need to get Manu right. He's been bothered by one thing or another all season.


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Mike (Boston): Is Boston the best team in the Atlantic

Marc Stein: I'm sticking with the Nets . . . for now. I struggle to believe that JKidd, Vince and RJ can't win the Titanic.


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mariacarla (nyc): what have you heard about the supposed feud going on between Chicago's Ben Gordon and coach Scott Skiles. Gordon has denied repeatedly that he is unhappy, yet it still is getting play in the media.

Marc Stein: As long as Gordon comes off the bench, the story will be in the media. But I'm with Skiles on this one. Gordon was so good in the sixth man role last season that I would have put him there again, too.


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Ben, Philly: Where do you see the sixers going this season?

Marc Stein: If Nets don't win the division, it'll be Philly. But will anyone be surprised if only one team qualifies from the Titanic? Don't think so. The best news is that Iverson and Webber look good together. The defense can improve; AI and C-Webb clicking was the bigger issue coming into the season.


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kj (kent, oh): ok, so a few of us plebs got into it with ric bucher on an espn chat a couple weeks ago about LBJ. r u with 'the ric' that LBJ doesn't deserve to be compared to magic, larry, the big o, michael, et al??

Marc Stein: I'm with Bucher. Not until it happens in the playoffs, no matter how spectacular his regular-season starts are. Cavs should have made the playoffs last season and that has to be a strike on the resume.


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Eric (Indianapolis): Marc, do you think the Pacers are too immature to be considered a championship contender?

Marc Stein: They're a contender no matter what. The start has been disappointing, but it's a tad early to write off a group this deep and versatile. Why not look at the bright side? Aren't you encouraged by Artest's start?


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Alex, San Francisco: The Warriors. Your thoughts...

Marc Stein: Lots of home games so far, which has obviously helped, but a good start was absolutely crucial to make this team believe that last season's finish meant something. And they have started well even with Baron playing hurt. So you have to be impressed with that.


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Nate (Madison): What's your evaluation on the Bucks so far? They escaped a tough month of November and have pulled off two victories this past week with Redd banged up and Smith out?

Marc Stein: You're right. It's a fine start. Their depth is the main thing. They have a lot of options, inside and outside. I liked them even before the Magloire trade. Now you have no choice but to like them.


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Noah (Santa Monica): Was Belkin right?

Marc Stein: No. The nature of restricted free agency means you have to go over the line to get your guy. The system is set up so that way. If you're trying to pry a good restricted free agent away from a team that won't just let him go, it's going to cost you big-time. As costly as it would have been, I believe the Suns when they say they would have matched an offer sheet for Johnson. The Colangelos were not going to let an asset like that go for nothing. If the Hawks would have simply tendered an offer sheet, Phoenix would have matched and then moved Joe later in a trade if they really couldn't afford keeping him. As it turns out, replacing Joe with cheaper depth and versatility looks like a genius approach already. But the Hawks had to get Johnson however they could. When was the last time a marquee free agent wanted to come to Atlanta? If the Hawks deserve to be shredded for something, it's not drafting Chris Paul. You put Paul and Johnson together and now you have a serious backcourt.

Marc Stein: Appreciate your patience on a day my computer isn't cooperating so well. We'll do it again soon.